Ours in the USA: as an inventor from Ukraine, earned on the love of Americans for animals

The idea of ​​a miracle gadget Petcube was born in a Kiev apartment. A year later, a startup attracted $ 250 000 crowdfunding, and then managed to raise another million dollars. Today, Petcube’s office is no longer based in a friend’s quarter, but in Silicon Valley. And the fact that at first skeptics called toy for seals, has become an innovative gadget for pet owners.

Photos from the personal archive of the hero

What opportunities for creating your business exist in the USA and in Ukraine? What is the secret of success and unique features of specialists from the post-Soviet space? What new opportunities does the system of virtual communication with pets open? We talked to these topics with one of the project creators. Petcube Yaroslav Azhnyuk.

Material prepared in partnership with the site. “Ukrainian Inters”.

Give animals a voice

Petcube - a unique invention for pet owners. The device is a video camera to monitor the pet remaining at home, which can be controlled through an application on a mobile phone. The device also allows you to talk with the animal and play with it using the built-in laser pointer.

In this case, Jaroslav explains: his company does not just give owners the opportunity to check what their favorites are doing. This is a global project whose goal is, in fact, to connect animals to the Internet.

«We offer several products, in particular, the Petcube Play and Petcube Bites devices. Petcube Play includes a video camera, with which you can monitor animals, as well as a built-in laser pointer, which you can play remotely with them, controlling it from the phone. Petcube Bites includes an ejection feature. Thus, it is possible not only to look after the animals remotely and communicate with him, but also to feed him. We also have a monthly subscription for users, which allows you to save video surveillance of pets, as well as an absolutely free application for mobile phones - a kind of social network for pet lovers."- lists the entrepreneur.

The users of the social network created by Yaroslav not only have the opportunity to communicate and share videos, but also to play remotely with other people's pets - of course, with the permission of the owners.

Petcube Photos

«For example, your friend can give you access, and you can play with someone else's cat with a laser pointer. Thus, the animals are really connected to the Internet.“- says Yaroslav.

The idea of ​​the project arose on the basis of a pressing need. Kiev resident's dog Alexandra Neskina stubbornly did not want to be alone: ​​he barked, whined, gnawed upholstered furniture, causing complaints from his neighbors.

«Then Sasha guessed to use a video camera to spy on his dog, and then added a laser pointer to play with him. So the idea for PETCube“- shared Yaroslav.

Alexander Neskin at that time worked in a digital agency Prodigi with two friends - Yaroslav Azhnyuk and Andrew Klen. Once at a party, a mutual friend suggested that they unite - to create a common business and make Petcube product of mass consumption. So the company appeared Retcube Inc. Alexander Neskin became technical director, Andrew Klen - creative, and Yaroslav Azhnyuk - CEO. Studying the markets, friends came to the conclusion that their invention should be especially in demand in the United States.

Photos from the personal archive of the hero

«The market for pet products in America at the moment is on the order of 70 billions of dollars a year, and there have been no innovations in this market for a long time. We realized that if we collect all modern technologies here, it will be in demand. Of course, classic surveillance cameras in apartments have been used before. However, the Retcube performs more phone functions than a standard security camera. This is similar to how parents call their child to check how he is doing. With the help of our device, you can also "call" your pet. Of course, he will not be able to pick up the phone and answer you clearly, but he will hear your voice.“- explains Yaroslav.

At the same time, the company's CEO stresses: the goal of the project today is much more global than simplifying the process of looking after pets.

«We want to not only connect animals to the Internet, but also, if I may say so, give them a voice. The abundance of videos that users post, allows you to constantly watch the animals online, which means that it gives you the opportunity to study their behavior. We connect the capabilities of artificial intelligence to analyze this material. Perhaps this will help identify signs when an animal, say, gets sick, and also identifies and analyzes other algorithms for its behavior. We hope that following these studies, people will be able to better understand animals.“- says Yaroslav.

The Ukrainian businessman admits: at the very beginning, people around him did not believe that the idea would be in demand. However, only in the 2013 year, a year after creation, Petcube collected over $ 250 000 on a crowdfunding platform Kickstarterbecoming the most successful project for animals.

В August 2014 creators Petcube invited for four months in a business accelerator in Shenzhen (China). There they were taught how to choose a contractor, set up production, find markets and partners. In the accelerator, Alexander, Yaroslav and Andrey not only received the help of mentors, advisers and experts, but also attracted $ 70 000 dollars to their project. It was in China that the guys started production of their devices.

«During the first year we tried to understand whether it was possible to organize production in Ukraine, but this turned out to be difficult and economically unjustified. This does not mean that Ukraine lags behind other countries in terms of development. No, it's all about specialization. In a global world, each country tries to specialize in something. Ukraine, for example, is one of the largest exporters of agricultural products, while Shenzhen is the world capital of electronics production. In the field of small and medium-sized electronics, no one can compete with them. Silicon Valley, in turn, is a concentration of top-level specialists, access to capital, experience, expert resources, etc.“- explains Yaroslav.

Ukraine has great potential

Now Yaroslav Anzhuk is in San Francisco, but he does not consider himself an emigrant, noting that he came to the US for work, and never broke off ties with his homeland.

«I can’t even remember a moment when I would decide for myself that I should leave. And before coming to the States, I freely traveled the world, was in China, in Europe, and then came to develop business in the USA. Here I am on an O-1 visa, and did not even apply for a green card. I spend about a month in the year in Ukraine, but now I plan to spend more time there. In the modern world, the concept of "residence" is eroded, people freely travel and develop in different countries“- he believes.

Yaroslav admits: having arrived in the USA, he was surprised at how much this country differs from Europe.

Photos from the personal archive of the hero

«The way of life, mentality, behavior algorithms, interests of people and so on are very different from European ones. Therefore, I would advise people who wish to come here for the first time to be ready for the new. In addition, different states within the United States sometimes differ from each other, as different countries. Of course, I was not very easy at the very beginning. I came to 24 to build a business from scratch, without knowing anyone here. The first one and a half or two years, I felt some discomfort"He says.

Nevertheless, the Ukrainian entrepreneur notes: the business in the post-Soviet space is tougher than in the United States.

«In America, the level of competition is higher, but there are some gentlemen's rules of the game, and people try to stick to them. Businessmen of the post-Soviet space and Eastern Europe, as a rule, have no experience in planning strategies on 10 and 20 years in advance. Due to the instability and upheavals occurring in our countries, people have a narrower planning horizon. Based on this, the behavior of our entrepreneurs may be more aggressive, and they think less about their reputation, because reputation is a very long-term asset. Of course, in the USA there is enough deception, dishonesty and corruption, but it is an order of magnitude smaller than in Russia or Ukraine.“- says Yaroslav.

The main factor that can contribute to economic growth in Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries, the co-founder Petcube considers a change in attitude towards what is a true model of success.

«Unfortunately, we still have the Soviet model of success, according to which anyone who reaches the government must steal. An example of corrupt deputies and officials for some becomes a role model, a principle of life: “If you do not steal, you will not live.” This model must be changed to the Western principle, when to achieve success you need to learn a lot, work and create some kind of good for the world. Entrepreneurs of the new formation, especially those who work with technologies and create completely new products, set new role models for society. This is exactly what you want to strive for.“- he believes.

Despite the existing shortcomings, Yaroslav is sure: it is absolutely possible to create and manage a successful business in Ukraine.

Photos from the personal archive of the hero

«Most of our own business is in Ukraine. 40 people from our company work there, whereas in the US there are only 12. In Ukraine, there is an incredible human potential. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in many post-Soviet countries, a rapid process of national identity began. Unbelievable energy awakens in people, they gush forth their abilities and try to show the world the achievements of their newly acquired statehood.

In addition, in Ukraine there is a wide range of professionals, including in IT-technologies. In the world there are only about 10 countries that can build an aircraft and have the appropriate specialists. Ukraine is one of them. On the other hand, this is combined with the fairly low cost of these talented people by world standards. The highest level of the local market in Ukraine, Russia or Belarus is very low compared to the United States, and you do not need to compete for these people with large corporations. In short, the talent of these people, their passionate energy and the relatively low cost of labor make it possible for absolutely fantastic companies to appear in Ukraine. The disadvantage is that there is a shortage of experienced managers in the post-Soviet space. We solve this problem by hiring such managers here.“- explains Yaroslav.

Even the war that began in 2014, according to Yaroslav, did not cause significant damage to the potential of Ukraine, on the contrary, rallied the nation, and even prompted some immigrants living in the US to return to their historic homeland and help its development.

The secret of success

As for the personal secret of success, Yaroslav believes: the majority of truly successful people do not consider themselves as such.

«According to my observations, the majority of people who have achieved a lot in life did not strive for this on purpose. As one friend of mine says, fame, money and power are three things that will never make you happy. In most cases, they come, as a side effect, to those who strive to do something important and useful for the world, something beautiful, something that they like. Of course, you need to work hard, to be purposeful, not to give up. It is not enough just to be clever, it is important to develop different personality traits. It is very important to be able to negotiate, find a common language with people."He lists.

Yaroslav Azhnyuk is sure: every person can do a lot, and is able to discover in himself the abilities to a variety of things - which, of course, does not exclude the need to find partners from among specialists in the necessary fields.

«Of course, each person is especially good in the activities that he loves. But we are able to love the very different work. I know from my example that it is possible“- says Yaroslav.

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